During the Autumn months, Columbus is transformed into a festive and colorful city full of events and anticipation for the upcoming holidays. With Halloween being over, the atmosphere transforms from a spooky vibe to a more festive and grateful one with the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. With all of this holiday excitement in the air, there are many options for fun in and around Columbus!
Neighborhood Spotlight:
German Village
German Village is a historic neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, just south of downtown. It was settled in the early-to-mid-19th century by a large number of German immigrants, who at one time comprised as much as a third of the city’s entire population.
Great Video about the Neighborhood:
https://youtu.be/hrRgPFbEAkg
German immigrants who arrived in the South End in the 1850s immediately felt at home: people spoke German in the stores, schools, and churches; their homes were solid yet unpretentious. After work, bakers, stonecutters, storekeepers, carpenters, tanners, bricklayers, and brewery workers relaxed in nearby bier gartens. Most belonged to gymnastic and singing societies. This simple, yet distinctive working-class neighborhood was a little bit of Germany. (Source)
German Village Society
On January 10, 1960, a small group of dedicated, preservation-minded people met to explore the possibility of forming an association to help save this neighborhood from decline. In just a few months, community activist Frank Fetch recruited 183 people to charter the German Village Society. Now, 50+ years later, our neighborhood is a vibrant community known for its charming brick streets and sidewalks, beautifully tended gardens and homes, pedestrian-friendly lifestyle, thriving shops, restaurants and businesses, and year-round volunteer and social events that deepen and expand our connection with this incredible community. At the heart of our special neighborhood is the German Village Society, a non-profit civic association that is at the forefront of efforts to strengthen, enhance and promote our community. The challenges have been many, and the successes countless. (Source)
The Book Loft
631 S 3rd St, Columbus, OH 43206 (614) 464-1774
One of the nation’s largest independent book stores, The Book Loft of German Village, is located at 631 South Third Street in Columbus, Ohio, just a few blocks South of the state capitol building. The pre-Civil War era buildings that once were general stores, a saloon and a nickelodeon cinema, now are home to 32 rooms of Bargain Books. (Read more at: http://www.bookloft.com/ ) (Source)
Max & Erma’s (Original)
739 S 3rd St Columbus, OH 43206 Max & Erma’s is a casual dining restaurant chain based in Columbus, Ohio. It operates throughout parts of the Eastern and Midwestern United States, and was founded in 1972 by Todd Barnum and Barry Zacks. The two businessmen purchased a local tavern in Columbus’s German Village which had been operated by Max and Erma Visocnik since 1958. They retained the Max and Erma’s name and created the theme restaurant which featured a converted bathtub that served as a sundae bar. (Taken from Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_%26_Erma’s ) (Source)
The Old Mohawk
819 Mohawk St Columbus, OH 43206
In 1933, Prohibition ends with the abolishment of the 18th amendment. Myles Elk opens Elk’s Tavern on the corner of Mohawk and Kossuth streets in German Village, next door to a neighborhood drug store. Legend has it that the tavern operated as a speakeasy during prohibition, but became immediately successful as a legitimate business upon prohibition’s repeal. The tavern quickly expanded to the entire building and the horseshoe bar was added. It is rumored that myles raised the turtles for the menu’s popular turtle soup and fried snapper turtle in the basement of the building. In 1977, “The Old Mohawk” is purchased by its current owners who revert to its popular name. Jim “Jeffers” begins his long career behind the bar. (Read more on The Old Mohawk website at: http://theoldmohawk.com/) (Source)
Schmidt’s
240 E Kossuth St, Columbus, OH, 43206 (614) 444-6808
Born just north of Frankfurt Germany, patriarch J. Fred Schmidt journeyed to America and settled in south Columbus in the early 1880′s. Opening the J. Fred Schmidt Meat Packing House in 1886 in the heart of German Village, Schmidt’s became Central Ohio’s most wellknown name in meats and is to this day sold in leading grocery stores around the country. Today, the family tradition of day-to-day operations of this uniquely diverse hospitality company is carried out by the fourth generation of the Schmidt family. The Schmidt name is recognized throughout central Ohio and the nation as a leader in quality specialty restaurants, catering and unequaled banquet facilities as well as retail sales and fair and festival food services. Pictured left to right are John, Geoff and Andrew Schmidt. (Read more on the Schmidt’s restaurant website at: http://www.schmidthaus.com/) (Source)